CCIDA Gets Clean Fiscal Bill Of Health

ELLICOTTVILLE – Despite some revenue numbers being lower in comparison to previous years, the Cattaraugus County IDA Board received a clean audit report Tuesday.

“I am happy to say that this is an unmodified opinion,” said Denise Veloski, CPA with R.A. Mercer & Co., P.C., of Cattaraugus. “That means that this is a clean audit with no audit findings. This is a good audit.”

She said the audit found that the IDA, though being down in revenue, has a net financial position of about $1.483 million. That amount is derived after the 2013 liabilities of $7,361 are taken out of the assets of $1.49 million. Those assets are down from $1.573 million in 2012 but liabilities are also down from $8,030.

The drop in assets is directly due to what Veloski referred to as pass through funds to the railroad owned by the IDA. In 2012, the organization received funds for the rail that hit the account and moved directly out to the rail, she said.

“It still has an impact on your revenues,” Veloski said.

Also having an effect on the assets are the numbers of projects that were aided by the agency in 2013. The plan was to have eight projects take place and close in 2013, but that did not happen. Three projects were tabled or have not taken place and one didn’t close until January 2014.

“Projects closing are our only way to procure income,” said Corey Wiktor, IDA executive director. “We are self-funded and receive no local, state or federal funds. Those projects not closing in 2013 have a direct impact on the decrease. We have already started to work with two projects this year with two more in the pipe.”

Another area where the financial position has been affected, according to Veloski, is in depreciations.

“Everything we were depreciating in previous years was depreciated, with the exception of some railroad items,” Veloski said. “We have depreciated it down to what is believed to be a reasonable salvage value and will leave it at that. From this point, the only depreciating we will do is on new assets you purchase.”

The railroad also represents the last piece of land that is owned by the IDA, Wiktor said. In 2013, the final piece of non-rail-related land was sold. That piece was purchased by MJ Painting in Olean. Now, the only land is in the 50 feet of right-of-way on each side of the rail bed that runs from Gowanda to Waterboro, in Chautauqua County. The line owned is the New York & Lake Erie line.